Video conferencing is utilized for the communication of video images and audio between two or more participants of a video conference, and is increasingly used for such events as long-distance education courses, telemedicine, global business needs, and similar video conferencing applications. Video conferencing can be conducted via a PC to PC connection with video conferencing devices, such as a microphone and a Webcam, connected to input the audio and video data to the computing device and/or directly through a broadband connection.
Video conferencing systems that are commercially available today are typically for education and business applications, but are not economical for home or individual use. Individual subscribers to television-based services that are implemented via two-way networks, such as an IP-based network, can utilize interactive applications such as chat or instant messaging applications. However, such two-way interaction is limited to text and/or audio data, and there is currently not a provision for video image communication via a television-based service.